1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic key system that uses a server to control outputs of ID information of plural electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, more variety of portable electronic devices such as cellular phones, laptop personal computers, IC cards, and the like, is becoming available. The number of electronic devices each user carries also has increased with this trend.
Some of such portable electronic devices store ID information to be used for personal identification, electronic payment of electronic money, authentication for locking and unlocking an automobile, a house, and the like. When such an electronic device is lost by accident or stolen, there is a risk that the ID information may be used by a third party who obtains the lost electronic device. Thus, countermeasures are necessary to prevent reading of ID information in case an electronic device storing the ID information is lost.
In view of this, an electronic device protection system disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-530692 has a security key stored in an electronic device and an electronic device protection apparatus, and authentication of the security key with the electronic device protection apparatus is performed at the time when power of the electronic device is turned on, and the electronic device is allowed to operate only when the authentication is successful.
In the system described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-530692, once the security key is authenticated, the electronic device may be freely operated until its power is turned off. Thus, when ID information is stored in the electronic device, the ID information becomes free to use until the power of the electronic device is turned off.
Thus, when a user carries a plurality of electronic devices at the same time and loses some of the electronic devices that the user forgot to power off after using them, there is a risk that ID information may be used by a third party who obtains these electronic devices.